Black Pages turns 35, trades ink for the internet

This summer, the Macon-Middle Georgia Black Pages marks 35 years in publication. It will also produce its final print edition.

No need to worry, said publisher Alex Habersham. The long-standing Black business resource isn’t going anywhere. The shuttering of its print operations is just a “sign of the times.”

Digital media is “where the world is going,” he said of his plans to shift entirely online. “So you have to adapt.”

Habersham launched the Black Pages in 1991 as a free Black business directory with magazine-esque editorial content and a yearly theme. He said the publication mirrors both the Yellow Pages directory and the Green Book, which served as a guide for Black travelers looking for room, board and food in the Jim Crow era of racial segregation.

Habersham said he wanted to introduce “a resource that we could tastefully, fairly and effectively use to uplift ourselves.” His goal wasn’t “to draw a line or create a division in the community” but to encourage Black people like himself to economically reinvest into their community by supporting Black-owned businesses.

The first edition of the Black Pages was 40% of its current size.

“It benefits the entire community if, in fact, we could promote, uplift and advance these businesses because they will be better community partners,” he said.

Supporting Black businesses feeds into improved education, an increased tax base and reduced crime, he said, noting that “a rising tide raises the whole ship.”

Habersham has long been at the heart of business in Middle Georgia. A Macon native from Tindall Heights, he attended the segregated Ballard Hudson High School, later became a teacher and was witness to growing opportunities for Black individuals in the years that followed.

He launched several business endeavors, including a newspaper, car wash service, floral shop, transportation company, and radio and TV repair shop. Most notably, he opened Macon’s iconic Habersham Records store in 1972.

Habersham has not lost focus of his original goal to provide civic, social and educational engagement to the community — even if his publication will look a little different moving forward.

“I have seen instances where technology leaves old folks out,” Habersham said.

He said he plans to print a few for those who need it and make the entire resource printable from his website.

He will also focus on expanding the “online mall,” a digital marketplace on Macon Black Pages’ platform. Small business owners who do not have the bandwidth to run their own websites can still reach online customers through their presence on his website.

In the past six months, the Black Pages publisher has gone back to his roots as a teacher, reaching an entirely new audience on TikTok. In his video series “Blackenomics,” Habersham talks about the economic contributions and history of Black people in Macon, such as Black Wall Street, which was once located in the Cotton Avenue District.

“In spite of the tenor and attitudes of some elements of the country and the community,” Habersham said, there is a general understanding that diversity and inclusion matters and benefits all.

“I just believe very strongly in the community,” he said.